Some of you may be aware that the USGBC recently announced that they will be outsourcing the certification of buildings. RealLifeLEED is here to tell you that this is probably a good thing, given the delays in reviews I've experienced in the past few months. The press releases will imply that this is because the USGBC is striving to meet ANSI/ISO/ETC. standards, but my guess is that the real reason is that it's having a hard time scaling up as all those registered projects are finally coming through the certification process. This is great news from a "shifting the industry towards sustainability" standpoint, but not so great if you have an owner who wants that plaque yesterday! Please understand I post the following not to gripe about LEED, but to make you professionals understand the length of time you need to allot in your schedules for this process, especially if you're splitting design and construction reviews...

On my most recent project submitted for a design review, THERE WAS A DELAY OF 6 WEEKS AND 4 DAYS BEFORE THE REVIEW EVEN BEGAN!

The Long March to Certification

It started early this year, when I submitted a design review mid-January 2008. I soon got an email back indicating that "due to a backlog from the holidays compounded by capacity issues, your project's review has not yet started... this may take up to two weeks." To be clear, this means there's two weeks before the 25-day review periods begins, to which the USGBC asked in a further email for an additional two weeks (35 day review period). Then you get the comments back and have 25 business days to make any requested changes (if any... but there's bound to be a few). Then they go through the final review phase incorporating those comments, and issue your final review points. You can then accept or appeal those points on an individual basis. I just accepted the review, so I can't tell you how long the appeal process takes.

To sum up, here's how that all timed out for me in the first project:

RealLifeLEED Submits for Design Review

Jan 15 - Zero Hour!

Design Review Commences

Feb 4 - 2 weeks, 6 days after zero hour

Design Review First Comments Received

Mar 24 - 9 weeks, 6 days after zero hour (35 business days after review commenced)

RealLifeLEED Resubmits Project Incorporating Comments

Apr 9 - 12 weeks, 1 day after zero hour

Final Design Review Comments Issued

May 30 - 19 weeks, 3 days after zero hour!

Rinse and Repeat for Construction Review!

So you can now see how it takes time to get through the review process. Given the six week delay on the currently under review, we're looking at a schedule around 23-24 weeks long assuming the rest of the process proceeds as quickly as the January project did.

If you're perfect, you could cut off a significant amount of time by not needing any clarifications and accepting the initial review, but I sure as hell wouldn't guarantee the client that I could make that happen. I've been a supporter in the past of separating the design and construction review, but I'm starting to doubt that that's a wise choice. Please share your thoughts (and delay experiences) in the comments section!

24 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Question: Who are these reviewers? Are they regionally choosen based upon proxicimity to the projects? Are they experts in that field?In other words, if I have a project in Los Angeles will the reviewer for EA C1 be a CEM from southern California?

My understanding is that there is a geographic separation between the project and the reviewer to avoid reviewers knowing the people involved in the projects, but I'm not 100% on that. I've always been told that you should operate on the assumption that the reviewer is knowledgeable in the field the credit applies to (mechanical engineering, landscaping, etc.) but has no knowledge about local codes, climate, etc. This is why you're required to submit a fair amount of summary drawings, narratives, etc.

I can say this for sure, you will never have any direct access to your reviewers. You can't call them up, send them an email, ask them anything, etc. You will only receive whatever comments they leave on LEED-Online. You do have access to a certification coordinator from the USGBC, but they won't relay a message for you or anything.

Katy - I'm not aware of any LEED specific software available on the market...

Our firm, who reviews LEED projects through a contract with USGBC, is a large A/E firm. We have LEED APs on staff to review any credit needed. Prior to receiving a review, we are given enough information about the applicant and project to be able to tell USGBC that there is no conflict of interest. Geographical location of project and reviewer are typically not addressed. Some in our group have reviewed coast-to-coast and beyond...

The software is technically in beta (i.e. almost ready for prime-time), and is currently being used by a client to manage over 25 projects - so we are starting to run it through it's paces.

I am interested in talking to other individuals/firms who might be interested in using the software - even in its current beta form. If anyone is interested, please visit my website and click on the 'Contact Us' link.

I am working as the LEED Manager for a construction company that is using specs written with v2.1 to certify a building under v2.2. Yeah, its not too fun.

Does anyone know how long a typical building flush-out takes for a 20,000 sf building under v2.2? Our specs are calling for a 2-week flush-out, and I’m afraid that the 14,000 cf of O/A per sf of floor area in v2.2 will take longer than 2 weeks, although we haven’t ran the calcs yet.

When submitting for Design Review, is it true that you cannot have any construction phase credits attempted? This seems crazy. Do I have to unattempt all the credits, I've assigned and downloaded the blank forms for in order to submit just the credits marked Design phase? Thanks.

You don't need to unattempt the construction phase credits, they just won't be submitted on their own. You DO have to unattempt or defer any design phase credits that you don't want submitted as part of the design review.

I have a client that wants to certify an industrial building. The problem is the extremely high plug loads, and meeting 14% above ASHRAE 90.1. Has anyone had a similar experience? ASHRAE 90.1 2004 states the provisions of this standard do not apply to industrial buildings. What does this mean? Any help would be great!

The way process loads are modeled, you should be able to get around that problem, and the way the modeling is handled should be adapted to industrial buildings as well. I'm not an engineer, so you definitely need to talk to one before you go much further. Check out this post for some other places to find out more.

HELP!!! I was so focused on making sure that the documentation for all the credits were complete and uploaded that I totally forgot to upload a project plans, sections, narrative etc in the project Summary section. I have already submitted for design review. Will the reviewers give me a chance to add this information or will they reject everything due to this. How do I get in touch w/ a GBCI co-ordinator to rectify this??

The Real Life LEED Genius Board

About Real Life LEED

This blog was created to fill the void of knowledge about all the little things that can make the LEED process frustrating. While I'm still learning, I routinely work on these issues and wanted to share what I've discovered in the hopes of making the LEED system more efficient, easier to use, and effective for everyone!

Please note that "I'm still learning" is a key phrase in the above paragraph. Any actions you take as a result of posts, comments, advice, or advertisements on this website is at your own risk. This is not an official U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) nor Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) website.

If you have any questions that you can't find answers for or tips to offer, please email me anytime!I try to answer all emails, but many fall through the cracks and for that I apologize.